TheWestern Gateway powerhouse
A gateway to invest in theWest. Gloucestershire has been included as part of a powerhouse that will drive central government investment into the region. In the days before parliament shutdown for the general election, a significant announcement was made that had been months, if not years, in the planning. The Western Gateway is the rather contrived name for what will be the West and Wales’ version of the Northern Powerhouse: an organisation that will drive investment and growth into the region. The fourth powerhouse to be established in the past decade, the Western Gateway follows on from the Northern Powerhouse, Midlands Engine and Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford corridor. Local authorities from Swindon to Swansea and from Weston-super-Mare to Moreton-in-Marsh will join together, with the leader of Gloucestershire County Council quick to call it significant news. "This is excellent news for Gloucestershire, for our businesses and our residents,” said Councillor Mark Hawthorne. "The Western Gateway puts us at the front of the
queue for attracting new business and government funding into our area. "It is a really exciting project that will change our area for the better in ways we can only begin to understand.”
That view was shared by Sam Holliday, the regional development manager for Gloucestershire, Bristol, and Bath for the Federation of Small Business. Mr Holliday’s patch will be entirely encompassed within theWestern Gateway and he saw the benefits for himself as a guest at a London event to launch the idea earlier in the year. “We all know and have heard of the Northern Powerhouse, and without doubt investment has been pushed through by it having collective bargaining power. “Politically, I am unsure how it will work and some will be worried about another level of bureaucracy being added to government. “But it’s been proven that the government like giving investment to wider areas than just one Mark Hawthorne
is OUT February 2020 PUNCHLINE ANNUAL
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4 | December 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com
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